Martijn Bezemer
Professor Ecology of Plant-Microbe-Insect Interactions
Martijn Bezemer studies how plants influence the soil they grow in and the microbiome in the soil, and how these changes influence other plants that grow later in the soil, and the insects on those plants. We study these aboveground-belowground interactions under controlled conditions in greenhouses and growth chambers with individual microbes, plants and insects, but also in real field situations. Much of our work has focused on grassland ecosystems but we also study these interactions in horticultural soils and in forests. One of the model systems we use is tansy ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris), a native outbreak species in Europe that is invasive in other continents. In collaboration with restoration practitioners we examine how we can improve the biodiversity and functioning of these grasslands, by selecting plants to improve soils or via whole soil inoculation.
Selected Publications
Hannula, S.E., Heinen, R., Huberty, M. , Steinauer K, De Long JR, Jongen R, Bezemer TM (2021) Persistence of plant-mediated microbial soil legacy effects in soil and inside roots. Nature Communications 12, 5686.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25971-z
Inderjit, Simberloff D, Kaur H, Kalisz S, Bezemer TM. Novel chemicals engender myriad invasion mechanisms. New Phytologist (in press).
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17685
Thakur MP, van der Putten WH, Wilschut RA, Veen GF, Kardol P, van Ruijven J, Allan E, Roscher C, van Kleunen M, Bezemer TM (2021) Plant-soil feedbacks and temporal dynamics of plant diversity-productivity relationships. Trends Ecol Evol 36: 651-661.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.03.011
Heinen R, Hannula SE, De Long JR, Huberty M, Jongen R, Kielak A, Steinauer K, Bezemer TM (2020) Plant community composition steers grassland vegetation via soil legacy effects. Ecology Letters 23: 973-982. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13497
Pineda A, Kaplan I, Hannula SE, Ghanem W, Bezemer TM (2020) Conditioning the soil microbiome through plant-soil feedbacks to suppress aboveground pests. New Phytologist 226: 595-608.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16385
Hannula SE, Zhu F, Heinen R, Bezemer TM (2019) Foliar-feeding insects acquire microbiomes from the soil rather than the host plant. Nature Communications 10, 1254
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09284-w
Wang M, Ruan W, Kostenko O, Carvalho S, Hannula SE, Mulder PPJ, Bu F, Van der Putten WH, Bezemer TM (2018) Removal of soil biota alters soil feedback effects on plant growth and defense chemistry. New Phytologist 221: 1478-1491.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15485
Wubs ERJ, van der Putten WH, Mortimer SR, Korthals GW, Duyts H, Wagenaar R, Bezemer TM (2019) Single introductions of plants and soil biota generate long-term legacies in plant and soil community assembly. Ecology letters 22: 1145-1151.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13271
Pineda A, Kaplan I, Bezemer TM (2017) Steering soil microbiomes to suppress aboveground insect pests. Trends in Plant Science 22: 770-778.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2017.07.002
Wubs ERJ, Van der Putten WH, Bosch M, Bezemer TM (2016) Soil inoculation steers restoration of terrestrial ecosystems. Nature Plants 2: 16107.
https://doi.org/10.1038/NPLANTS.2016.107
